Flora and Fauna
by Indigo Blueberry
Summary: With her being crazy about magical plants and him testing boundaries with potentially dangerous creatures, something is bound to go wrong. Hogwarts in 1913 [OC x Newt Scamander].
1. The start of term

Flora and Fauna

Diving into the beauty that is nature.

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Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the Harry Potter universe, that is, from J. K. Rowling. Only my character belongs to me and my brain.

* * *

"I'm so glad I can drop Astronomy this year, and History of Magic! Such a waste of my precious life time", I said, as I spooned down the last bit of my breakfast porridge.

The start of a new year at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry was always an exciting day. The chattering in the great hall was unusually loud and filled with a tingle of anticipation by new and older students equally.

"It's unintelligible how a witch from an old family can hate history of magic; it's about us after all." Leta Lestrange clucked her tongue disparagingly at me and I had to grin.

"Not everyone gets their self-confidence from a pedigree", I mocked her while I opened my bag and lifted a small plant up and on the place where my bowl had vanished just moments before.

Sure", she snorted back, "and pot plants will get you a high class husband and a mansion on the countryside?"

I met her eyes and we both chortled in laughter.

Some students on the Ravenclaw table next to ours looked over and watched us oddly. I saw an older student point at me and then say something to a very small first year girl. As I grinned at her, she turned scarlet and dived under the table.

I felt the smile slide from my face and drop to the floor in a splash. Great, the new generation was already trained to see Leta and me as what we had to be: the arrogant pureblood princesses.

They thought we were pampered with riches and taught only people of highest blood status were worth living. True, in my childhood my parents told me there would be differences between wizards from families like ours and those from families with muggle backgrounds.

What they never seemed to think about was how we were educated that looks was all that mattered, had to wear corsets, only speak when spoken to, and sit quietly for a whole day until we received some attention from our parents.

As I started at Hogwarts it was a relief, a kind of freedom, to drop most of these behavioural guidelines. It was neither Leta's nor my biggest dream to end up as a respectable arm-candy to some pureblood gentleman, daring to hope to give birth to a heir and spend the rest of our lives in utter boredom. Only that was all our families expected from us.

Leta and I knew each other since early childhood when I still visited her family in my best dress and vice versa. Leta had a free mind and while she was proud of her heritage, she never let the traditions restrict her freedoms.

And I… I had never been a girl for being stuck inside. I craved fresh air, sunshine, soil and grass under my feet. Green grass. Like my name.

While the hall slowly emptied as class time drew closer, the students who had passed their O.W.L.s the former year remained sitting on the rich breakfast-loaded house tables.

Our timetables had not yet been decided and so we waited for our head of houses, Professor Aragon, to finally rise from the teachers' table. I let my gaze wander around to the other tables and found only fourty students left, ten from each house.

I concentrated back on my newest plantlet to study it for the first time. It looked like a lignified, brownish thin stick reaching the length of a finger and then sprouting six smaller and thinner branches from the top. They were swaying slightly as though a breeze was rustling through it; its miniature leafs moving along.

"What's this?", Leta asked curiously and reached out to touch the delicate foliage.

"Watch out-" I started, but the plant had already raised one of its branches and whacked it onto Leta's hand.

"Ouch!", she shrieked and ripped back her hand, an angry red string garnishing the back of it. "What is that thing?!" She stared at it appalled and then at me.

"I- it's… well, it's a cutting from a… a whomping willow.", I hushed her, afraid a teacher would catch upon the ruckus.

"Flora! That's a really dangerous thing! How did you-"

"Miss Greengrass, Miss Lestrange?"

I jumped as I heard Professor Aragon's voice behind me, the Slytherin Head of house. Leta must have done the same as she had knocked over her glass of leftover pumpkin juice, which now seeped slowly into the tablecloth.

Professor Aragon was a tall man, pale, with short dark hair and no beard. His teaching and expression were often stern and I did not like him very much.

"I did not mean to startle you.", he said slowly, his gaze wandering from the orange puddle on the cloth to me and I did my best to look innocent, while I reached behind me and moved the pot so it was concealed behind my back.

He cleared his throat and handed me a piece of parchment.

"Miss Greengrass, I set your timetable as I thought fitting, assuming you still follow the career of a Healer?", he asked and I nodded quickly.

"You will want to focus on potions then, as Professor Fronsac only accepts the most diligent students in his N.E.W.T.s class. Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures as electives, yes. And here you are, Miss Lestrange. As for a position in the Magical Law Enforcement, I see you fulfilled all the required O.W.L.s. Yes… Transfiguration, Charms and History of Magic. Professor Dumbledore was especially proud of your 'Outstanding' in Defence against the Dark Arts. Also, Care of Magical Creatures as elective."

At his words, Leta's expression darkened. She took the offered parchment from Professor Aragon without a word and tucked it into her robes.

"I am glad to welcome the two of you back in Care of Magical Creatures on Thursday then; we have to uphold the honour of Slytherin house after all!" He barked out a short laugh, which did not quite reach his eyes, and turned to tend to the other Slytherins.

Only as I heard him talk to Slughorn next, I let out the breath I'd been holding and my shoulders sagged down.

"Really, Flora!", Leta hissed in a hushed voice at me as I carefully put the pot back into my bag before Professor Aragon came back. She was cradling her injured hand to her chest.

"You risk getting expelled and honestly, keeping a whomping willow in your school bag! There is a reason why professor Beery never showed us one; there is just no safe way to treat them! What will you do when it-"

"Look, double period Defence against the Dark Arts today.", I interrupted her firmly, before her lecturing took the whole morning and my good mood with it. We'd had this discussion before and I was tired to go through it all over again.

Plants connected to me somehow and I found them to grow better when I had them close instead of leaving them in the greenhouses with professor Beery. It fascinated me so stick a seed into the soil and see it growing, unfurling leafs, blossoming and bearing fruits at some point.

To me this was life in its purest form.

Leta must have seen my defiant look, as she snapped her mouth shut. Eyes flashing angrily, she stuck up her nose and grabbed her bag.

I didn't bother to stop her as she strode away importantly, but rather followed behind Horace Slughorn out of the great hall and up the marble staircase to classroom four.

When I arrived there, about ten other students seemed to have taken the advanced class with Professor Dumbledore. Leta already sat in the rear left corner of the room. She glanced up at me once, then stuck up her nose and quickly began a conversation with her rather surprised looking neighbour.

I shook my head slightly at her and chose to sit next to a lanky boy I only knew from sight with thin brown hair, a Ravenclaw. At least I thought he must be as a blue and neatly folded scarf laid on the table next to his Defence against the Dark Arts book.

"Is this seat taken?" I asked as I sat down and started to unpack, not really waiting for his answer. I felt his eyes on me as I put my wand onto the desk and reached down for my quill.

"Apple wood, is it?", the boy spoke up. "A fine material, best suited to those of high ambition."

I looked up into his startlingly light blue eyes. "Yes, it is. But how do you know?" I had to avert my eyes from his rather pervasive stare and reached for my wand, feeling it hum between my fingers as I grabbed it.

"My father taught me. When I leave school, I will take over the family's wand making business.", he replied softly.

Suddenly I remembered those very eyes, icy as the winter, staring at me when I picked my wand a few years ago. "You wouldn't happen to know Mister Ollivander..?", I started hesitantly and he smiled.

"Finest wands since 382 B.C."

The door opened and as Professor Dumbledore strode into the classroom, our conversation ceased.

* * *

"Look, I'm sorry. How often do I have to repeat it?"

I'd just caught up to Leta after my Arithmancy lesson and found her heading to the dungeons towards our common room. As I still had potions, which also took place down there, I went to follow her. She had her lips pursed, but she looked at me out of the corner of her eyes.

"Where did you get it from?", she asked pointedly and I caught on.

"The whomping willow? Nicked it from greenhouse 3 only this morning."

"Before term started? You're such a freak, Flora." My smile dropped. She stopped walking and sighed, finally meeting my eyes fully.

"Listen, I won't ask you why you took it. Some fanged geranium in there probably bullied it, it didn't get enough dragon dung, or… I don't know. You gave me all of these already. But it's dangerous and forbidden! If someone saw it and recognized it, you'd take the train home tomorrow!"

I watched her and frowned, but found I didn't feel sorry anymore. She had reacted just like all of the others always reacted.

"But they never _do_ recognize it, right? All they see is a plant that's not behaving like a plant should so they cut it down and trample it, and some freak running around with it. Isn't that what you see, too?"

I left her before she could reply and slipped around the corner to my classroom.

* * *

That evening I directly went to bed early, but not without demonstratively putting the small whomping willow onto the windowsill of the girls' dormitory, where it kept on moving its branches. One of them touched the glass and gently knocked a few times against it before settling down again. A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth.

It was a shame Leta couldn't see how conscious it was of its surroundings. It was most certainly not dangerous, only defensive. I sighed and sat down onto my mattress, undoing my golden blond hair from its bun.

Maybe I'd reacted too hard. But after five years of getting weird looks and people cracking silly comments about my family, about my house and about my passion I was tired of being called something like a freak.

* * *

The next day at breakfast I sat alone and quartered an apple, just as the daily post arrived in a flock of birds soaring into the great hall.

I looked up and found a familiar tawny owl circling high above me. A moment later, it had swooped down onto the table and laded between the fruit bowl and my morning coffee.

"Good morning, Duke." I sighed and stroked the head of our family owl. I untied a neat letter with the waxen Greengrass crest stamped into the seal, and Duke took a beak full from my cup before he took off.

I felt anticipation rising in my stomach as I broke the seal and pulled out a piece of parchment covered in tight green lines of elegant handwriting. I recognized it as my mother's instantly.

A letter that soon in term only could mean something important happened. I carefully unfolded the paper and flew over the words. I only had read the first few sentences from my mother and knew the content of all those following.

"Dear Flora, your father and I sincerely hope you took Mr. Nott's kind offer during your holidays into consideration. I ask you to send back your response soon, as arrangements need time for preparation. Your father insists upon reminding you of your responsibility-"

Then there was something about

"Your intention of becoming a healer seems most unfitting in our traditions-"

And an assurance of, when I'd sent back my positive answer, she would immediately write to the Headmaster to free me from as she called it "educational enrolment". She then concluded by stating her hope I'd be well and again wrote to send a response back by owl as soon as possible.

I stared at it in disbelief. How could they?!

My hand holding the letter was shaking, and I roughly stuffed the unread rest of it back into the envelope. The letter seemed to press down at me and I could barely breathe.

In the holidays, Mr Cantankerus Nott, the heir of the Nott family fortune and all other riches it seemed, had indeed come over to our house for a formal visit and asked when I would be finished with school.

As I had told him I would be starting sixth year, he'd looked a bit disappointed. I knew he'd wanted me as his wife then, even though he was nearly double my age. But I had slept well that night knowing there was a closed period of time for me at least until I had finished school.

But now! It sounded as though my parents would rather take me out of school early than to let that chance pass!

My mother, she knew how I felt about being pushed into the silly marriage tradition, and she still wrote this! My father was no surprise, he'd told me in the past he'd have me married rather sooner than later and I had been glad to return to the school every holidays I spent at home.

I rubbed my sweaty palms against my knees, thoughts of how I would reply swirled through my head.

Or, should I not reply at all, simply ignore the letter and wait? Would Mr Nott just drop the proposal if the response took too long?

I barely registered Leta dropping down onto the bench next to me until she spoke.

"Good morning. I hope you feel sorry for what you said to me yester- Flora! What's the matter?!", she exclaimed as I turned to look her in the eye and she saw my panicked expression.

I pushed the envelope in front of her and shakily drank the rest of my cold coffee while I waited for her to finish reading. "Oh… oh Flora. That's it then? Cantankerus Nott, your bespoken husband?", Leta said quietly, and I heard the pity in her voice.

"Yes!" I exclaimed, not able to keep it in anymore. "Cantankerus Nott, the famous, the wealthy, the twenty years older than me _Cantankerus_ _Nott_! How could my parents just- without asking me- and they will take me from school!"

I was close to hysterics and Leta must have noticed, because she pulled me in a hug and spoke in a soothing voice.

"Calm down, we'll find a way out of it, I promise! Slytherin's don't just give up."

I breathed deeply to calm myself and yes, she was right. Nothing had actually happened yet, I could somehow get out of this.

"Right", I shakily laughed and wiped at my eye, "We're no Gryffindors after all."

* * *

And this was the first chapter. Newt Scamander will introduce himself in the next one, or so I've heard :) I want to write a story to relax and read, to develop slowly and naturally, so I myself am curious how it will actually develop.

Please leave a comment if you liked it, I'm glad for suggestions and improvements. I'm no native speaker, but I'll do my best


	2. The self-fertilizing shrub

Flora and Fauna

❀ Time spent amongst shrubs is never wasted time ❀

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Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the Harry Potter universe, that is, from J. K. Rowling. Only my characters belongs to me and my brain.

* * *

I took the first step out of the castle this afternoon and stretched comfortably as the last warm rays touched my face. Even though it was only September, the sun already touched the towering mountainside which surrounded Hogwarts castle and dipped it into a soft orange glow.

I took a deep breath, attempting to let all my negative feelings out with it. I had chosen not to answer to my parents' letter at all. Before I was married off to some old aristocrat, I thought sarcastically, I could at least enjoy the beautiful scenery and fresh air for a while. I rubbed my slightly stiff neck and started to stroll down the lawn to the greenhouses.

Some people had already gathered there and I guessed that they'd also continue the advanced Herbology class. As I reached the group consisting of four students, three girls and a boy, they shot me a glance and then continued their conversation. Sure, those were all Ravenclaws and, as far as I knew, only Horace Slughorn from my house had decided to continue this course, too. However, he wasn't here yet.

I folded my arms and leaned against the weathered glasshouse wall while I waited for Professor Beery to call us in. As I did so, another student traversed the distance between the castle and the greenhouses and as a lanky frame came into sight, I found that I recognized the face. It wasn't Horace.

It was that boy Leta had hung around with quite some time the last years. She'd never introduced us, but rather seeked his company whenever we had a row. His curly, sand coloured hair hung into his eyes as he scuffled closer and I saw him shoot a look at me and then at the group of Ravenclaws before he stared into the ground.

He stood there as though not sure why or what to do, and after a moment he started to fumble with his school bag. I furrowed my brows as I thought hard. I had not seen him in quite some time ever since last year and struggled to remember his name. Slytherins and Hufflepuffs never had Herbology or Potions or magical Creatures lessons together in the first five years.

Just as I found the boy glancing at me again out of the corners of his eyes, the door of greenhouse three opened and Professor Beery, the head of Hufflepuff house, appeared in the doorstep.

Herbert Beery was a rather corpulent, but good-natured and cheerful man with an already greyed beard and bushy eyebrows. On top of his balding head, he wore a patched straw hat, which clashed horribly with his dark green wizard robes and a yellow bow tie.

"Welcome, welcome!", he exclaimed merrily and opened his arms invitingly. "Today we'll start with something exciting, so in you go and put on your dragon hide gloves!" He gestured inside and I felt a grin tug at the corners of my mouth as pushed myself off the glass to enter. I had really missed Herbology classes in summer.

The Ravenclaws meanwhile had shared sceptical and partly exasperated looks before they scooped up their bags. Usually when Beery announced something exciting, it had already endangered a few lives in the past.

Last year, a Gryffindor had been squeezed to the unhealthy colour of an aubergine by a devil's snare before Beery had been able to free his neck. That lesson, too, had been announced to be "thrilling" and weeks afterwards, he still spoke adoringly about the way the vines had curled and tightened in a "most fascinating way". It was probably the reason why none of the Gryffindors attended the advanced course this year, so much for their bravery.

I admired Beery for his nonchalance and undeterred love for the most uncommon, unknown and dangerous plants "no decent witch or wizard would ever keep in their garden" as Leta had put it once. He was keen about showing their uses and beauty instead of their annual killing rates (the Daily Prophet's last issue of every year).

As I passed him, he winked at me merrily and then turned to the Hufflepuff boy, who was the last one to enter.

"Mr Scamander, welcome back to you, too. Lonely fighter for Hufflepuff, are you?", he chuckled and closed the greenhouse door as we gathered among various potted plants, tendrils hanging from the ceiling and a plant trough containing a few shrubs.

Scamander stood next to me and as I observed his blue eyes, which were now fixed on the shrubs, his name suddenly sprung to my mind. _Newt._ It was _Newt Scamander_. The boy who had some kind of obsession with magical beasts and dangerous creatures.

Now that I thought about it, by the end of last year, there had been an incident where a student had been hurt badly by some creature and Newt had been involved somehow, but …

As I tried to recall the events from three months or so ago, his eyes moved again to mine and I quickly looked away and felt heat rise to my face. I felt slightly embarrassed that he caught me staring him while we'd never really spoken to each other. I quickly put my bag under one of the tables and pulled on my thick gloves.

"Now, who can tell me what you will have the opportunity to pot and prune today?", Beery clapped his hands merrily as he walked over to stand next to the trough. I looked down at the rather umspectacular looking woody plants, hoping for some behaviour I could recognize them from. They did not move. They didn't even lash out or create some noise. No one spoke as we all stared at the trough.

Professor Beery however didn't seem perturbed as he chuckled and reached into his pocket. "Quite rare, I admit. I'll give you a hint though." He pulled out something that looked suspiciously like a piece of breakfast bacon and dropped it into the trough.

I wasn't the only one who gasped as several roots shot up from the soil and wrestled to get to the bacon first. They swiped at each other as though fighting, soil was flying everywhere, until a large, thick root won and grasped the bacon. A Ravenclaw girl squealed as dirt hit her robes and jumped back from the carnivorous plants. At last, the bacon was pulled underground and a few seconds later, the shrubs went motionless again.

"Professor, are those self-fertilizing shrubs?", I asked excitedly with my hand raised and Beery beamed. Only a few days ago I had read about these specimen in one of my magical botany books. And now I stood in front of some of the rarest native shrubs in northern England.

"Excellent! Five points to Slytherin. Indeed, Miss Greengrass, these are four fine exemplars of the so-called self-fertilizing shrub. Can anyone tell me why they are named in this rather uncreative fashion?"

He looked around expectantly and while I had my hand in the air again, the boy next to me raised his hand as well, but rather reluctantly. "Yes, Mister Scamander?", Beery called and Newt cleared his throat before he spoke.

"It's because they eat flesh and nourish themselves from it. So… so they don't need extra fertilization.", he finished slowly, never raising his head to meet Beery's joyful expression. I found his behaviour peculiar. Could he not stand eye contact? Or didn't he think people worth of this courtesy?

"Superb! That's five points to Hufflepuff as well. Now pair up and carefully take one of the shrubs, just pull them out of the soil and plant them in here", he gestured to a stack of large pots, "then take the hedge clippers and reduce the branches so it puts all its energy to the root. Everything clear?"

"But Professor! How can we touch them when they eat flesh?!", the girl with the dirty robes piped up in a nervous voice, her eyes wide.

"Simple!", he exclaimed brightly. "Leave on your gloves and watch out that your skin is never exposed while you transplant them. They can take chunks out of your arms, those roots! These self-fertilizing shrubs never know when the next meal walks by, as they grow in dark and damp places."

Professor Beery clapped into his hands again. "Now hurry up dears, the shrubs tend to kill each other when staying together for too long!"

Before I could look around for a partner, the Ravenclaws had paired up among themselves and Newt and I stood alone in the middle of the greenhouse. I usually didn't take the initiative in a group work, but neither did he.

While the others already started to work, the two of us just stood there as though ordered and never picked up. He seemed to have noticed as well and for a few moments, I tried to meet his gaze, but he wouldn't look up and fumbled with his gloves instead. The situation prolonged into utmost awkwardness.

"Uh, Professor Beery? Horace didn't show up yet and..", I began hesitantly and inwardly hoped to get my house mate as a partner somehow, but Beery interrupted me before I could continue.

"Oh yes, Professor Rattlebag sent him to the hospital wing to put his ears back on, said something about introducing the severing charm in class today.", Beery laughed heartily and put a hand on my shoulder, shoving me towards Newt. "Now Mister Scamander, Miss Greengrass, you really should start." He then left to tend to a fanged geranium, which had started to gnaw at a watering can and I sighed. I didn't like being paired up with somebody I didn't know.

"Alright then… are you ready?", I asked and turned to the two shrubs left in the trough, not caring for a reply. Now or never, I thought. I could still do it alone if necessary after all. But just as I reached down to pull out a plant Newt's arm brushed my shoulder.

"Let me do it."

I raised an eyebrow at his sudden activity, but stepped aside anyway. I wouldn't complain if he wanted to share workload with me in the end.

He bent his lanky frame and with a resolute pull, he unearthed the shrub. I quickly went to get a pot and together we covered it up with fresh soil in silence. It was interesting to work with this boy who didn't behave at all like the others in our year.

He didn't comment me as I stupidly tripped over a bag of dragon dung when I went to get the clippers. In fact, we barely spoke at all and I found the silence refreshing in contrast to the jabbering about nothing really on the table opposing us.

However, just as I cut off a particular thick branch, out of the corner of my eye I saw Newt pick something from the pile of cut-off material and pocket it carefully. I looked like elongated brown crumbs. As he did it again, seemingly not having noticed me observing, I cleared my throat and he jumped slightly.

"What do you think, is this enough?", I asked tentatively and set down the clippers. This ought to be team work after all, so why should I have to do all the pruning?

"Yes, yes of course. I mean… it looks good.", Newt replied in a haste and I furrowed my brows.

"What did you just grab from the clipping pile?", I inquired and saw his posture tighten uncomfortably.

"I… nothing, I mean there wasn't anything…", he started and paused as his cheeks turned slightly red. "You are Leta's friend, aren't you?", he suddenly changed subject and as I looked at him again, I found his blue eyes fixed on mine. It seemed a bit as though he tried to distract me from interrogating him again.

"Yes. I'm Flora. Flora Greengrass.", I replied slowly and as I'd already expected, he averted his gaze to stare at the dirty working place in front of him. Again an awkward pause rose between us.

"I… I found some wood lice on the shrub.", he said finally, readjusting his hair which had fallen into his eyes.

"Wood lice? But why-"

"Five minutes left, my dear friends!", Professor Beery's booming voice interrupted me. "Please water your shrubs and place them here next to the snargaluff trunks. Homework is half a scroll of parchment about the habitat, behaviour and handling of the self-fertilizing shrubs, to be handed in until Friday!"

Newt apparently was eager to disappear quickly, as he hastily gathered our tools and stuffed his gloves into his bag while I watered the freshly planted shrub. As I had set it onto its designated place and turned to pack my bag, I just saw him rush out of the greenhouse as the first one to leave.

Shaking my head, I scooped up my stuff, said goodbye to Professor Beery and followed the class out of the greenhouse into the dawn, which had already fallen over the grounds. It seemed to me that this Newt Scamander was quite easily scared off.

* * *

"Hey there." Leta plopped down next to me onto the green cushioned couch in our common room.

I replied with something between a sigh and a grunt as I scratched my head and crossed out a sentence on my essay about poison analysis for Professor Fronsac.

"Did you hear anything from your parents?", she asked and I absentmindedly shook my head and scribbled a quick conclusion to the paragraph.

"Lots of homework?", she asked after a while and leaned forward to take a look at the pile of books that sat on the table next to my parchment.

"Uh-huh." I sighed deeply and leaned back in my seat, covering my burning eyes with my arm. I felt weary and yearned for my bed and the weekend. Unfortunately, it was only Wednesday. "I only got some for History of Magic for next week, so no hurry here.", Leta said and I stuck my tongue out at her, which she promptly mirrored. It caused us both to laugh.

"I'm telling you, Fronsac's my downfall this year… three rolls of parchment until next Monday! And I'm sure he'll test us on antidotes, too. Then some Arithmancy and Beery's stuff…"

"I bet that's not really work for you though.", Leta smiled and I chuckled.

"Yeah, it's still the best part." I sat up and turned to directly look at her. "Guess who's in Herbology with me."

"I know I'm not, so it can't possibly be someone awsome", she mocked and I grinned.

"Well, you should know. It's Newt Scamander."

"Oh! Well... that's no surprise really. He's all about nature and creatures and...", she said slowly and looked quite thoughtful then.

"Didn't you use to run around the grounds with him? He asked me whether we were friends." Leta's dark eyes locked with mine and they suddenly held a coldness that made me shiver involuntarily.

"And what did you say?", she asked and I was taken aback by her hard tone.

"Well, I said yes of course. Did… did something happen between you and him?"

"It's not important.", she cut me short. "I'm going to bed, good night."

Leta straightened up and disappeared in the direction of the girls' dormitories. As she strode away, I could see how tense she had become in her movements and it suddenly reminded me of Newt in Herbology lessons.

I stared after her for a moment and let out the breath I only then noticed I was holding. It seemed I had addressed a touchy subject. I'd have given a sack of galleons for her thoughts right then.

* * *

Thank you for your reviews and reads for the last chapter. As snow keeps on falling and harsh winds howl outside, I love to think about the autumn sun and bathing in it. How about getting to know some magical creatures next time? What do you think about Professor Beery?

Please leave a comment if you liked it, I'm glad for suggestions and improvements.


	3. Augurey and Phoenix

Flora and Fauna

❀ A bird is three things: Feathers, flight and song ❀

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the Harry Potter universe, that is, from J. K. Rowling. Only my characters belongs to me and my brain.

* * *

This morning I found myself once more sitting at the breakfast table alone and as I swirled my spoon in the amber liquid of my morning tea, I thought about what had happened last evening.

Leta had acted most curiously to me meeting with Newt Scamander in class, rushing off in that manner and not reacting when I tried to talk to her in the dorms. They must have had a row, I decided silently and crossed my arms, and felt quite discontented about this situation.

Probably just Leta overreacting again as she did so often about small things, sometimes I really wondered why she behaved coldly to me then. I found this often simply unhelpful no matter the topic.

"Deep in thought, are we?" Horace Slughorn sat down on the bench opposing me, grabbed a roll, and buttered it. I relaxed my furrowed eyebrows, looked up and found my eyes drawn to his head, which was covered in already thinning brown hair, then wander to his left ear, which sat at the side of his head rather askew. I stared at it for a few moments before I forced myself to look away and saw him add deliberate amounts of jam to his roll.

"Uh… yes. So you had your ears fixed back on then?", I asked and he sighed.

"Can't exactly say I enjoyed that, took me ages to find them in the charms classroom and then they wouldn't let me leave the hospital wing all day! So, what did I miss in Herbology?" I took a sip of tea and smiled to myself, apparently he was keen to change subjects. Awry ears would certainly not raise his popularity among the female population in Hogwarts.

"Self-fertilizing shrubs. Half a roll of parchment till Friday", I replied and Horace nodded, looking mildly interested as he ate.

The daily flock of owls swooping into the great hall interrupted the rest of breakfast and I looked up, feeling a tight knot develop in my stomach as I looked for Duke, the family owl. Luckily, he indeed was not among them today. I'd expected post from home any day now as I still had not replied to my parents' letter about marrying me off to Cantankerus Nott.

I silently let out the breath I'd been holding and right then, Leta sat down next to me, looking rather somber.

"Good morning", I said in surprise as she poured herself a cup of coffee and mumbled a quiet "Morning" back. I really hadn't expected her to show up.

"Good Morning, Lestrange.", Horace said cheerfully, but Leta kept on staring gloomily into the depths of her usual black-no-milk-no-sugar morning beverage and didn't reply again.

"Are you alright?", I asked as I took in the dark circles under her eyes and rather dull gaze.

"Couldn't sleep.", she said simply. She raised her head and gazed into the great hall and as I followed her gaze, I saw Newt Scamander sitting there by himself.

He obviously had just received post as an important looking barn owl sat next to his plate, nipping a piece of toast. He himself was immerged into the letter, not noticing the forlorn looks that Leta shot at him. Horace apparently either didn't notice or care, but took a glance at his watch before jumping up.

"Good gracious! Lessons start in ten minutes and I still need to get my bag!", he exclaimed and hurried off into the entrance hall. This seemed to pull Leta out of her thoughts and her eyes left the lanky boy.

"We should hurry up, too; Professor Aragon hates people coming late, especially in the first lesson.", she said and downed her coffee at one go before grabbing her bag and making to get up.

By now most of the hall was deserted and as we made our way out, Scamander rushed by, his long legs striding past us easily, his leather school bag dangling from one shoulder as he walked. Leta reached out quickly, but stopped her hand in mid-air but dropped it again and Newt disappeared into the entrance hall.

Suddenly, she looked somehow even sadder than before and to my astonishment, her eyed were moist. For a moment, I wanted to ask what was going on between her and him, but she seemed in a vulnerable state today. She would probably rush off and hide all day, rather than let people see the arrogant and proud Lestrange indeed had human feelings.

So instead, I settled for stroking her shoulder in comfort, which she seemed to appreciate or at least accept and in silence, we exited the castle.

The morning moisture still clung to the blades of grass and to the hem of our robes as we crossed the lawn. The tender rays of the morning sun reflected in the droplets and made them glitter. A rather cold wind blew the first red and brownish leafs from the branches of acorns and oaks that grew at the border to the forbidden forest and chilled my hands and cheeks. I put my hands into the pockets of my robes, but enjoyed the fresh air and the start of a beautiful autumn day outside nevertheless.

After a few minutes, halfway down the grounds to the pumpkin patches, Leta had seemed to pull herself together. She raised her head and straightened her shoulders before we reached the fence surrounding the vegetable fields and the group of students that had gathered there. Still she chose to stand in a bit of a distance to the others and of course, Scamander.

Her head was averted from the other students with determination and she stared instead at the gigantic bright orange pumpkin fruits, which littered the ground behind the fence. But as I felt rather curious, I'd watched Newt Scamander closely as we arrived.

He had his head up for a change, too and his blue eyes followed Leta until she leaned against the fence. It seemed to me that he desperately tried to make eye contact with her, but his eyes were bright with emotion, his face pale, his lips clenched. He looked as though somebody had just slapped him in the face, as Leta didn't turn and kept her gaze to the vegetables.

After a few moments that I'd looked at him, his eyes suddenly darted over to me for a second before he turned away and as yesterday, tried to look busy with the clasp of his schoolbag. His cheeks had suddenly reddened and his jaw was clenched as though he tried to suppress a reaction.

Before anyone else noticed the strange situation though, Professor Aragon came out from the forest and joined the class for the first lesson of care of magical creatures of this term. Some girls let out a sound of astonishment as he came closer and I saw that he carried two feathered creatures with him.

A dark greyish coloured bird the size of a swan perched on Aragon's shoulder, swaying slightly from side to side with the teacher's steps. He had a sharply curved black beak and mournful looking light yellow eyes that gave an impression of a dark clouded rainy day in winter.

The other bird, which sat on Aragon's lower arm as though an overlarge bird of prey, looked quite the opposite. I instantly recognized the beautifully deep red and orange-flamed feathers, the golden legs and long black beak to belong to a phoenix. It had an aura of great power and dignity, the golden adorned head held up high and majestically.

It shifted its weight from one to the other leg as Aragon came to stand at the fence and it hopped onto the wooden planks. The professor tried to motivate the grey bird to sit next to the phoenix by offering his arm, but it wouldn't get on it.

Instead, it let out a high vibrant tone, which sounded so hurt and sad that the whole class seemed to drop into despair as several books dropped from suddenly limp hands, shoulders drooped and some girls even looked close to tears. Leta had turned from the fence to stare at the bird and her dark eyes were wide and watery. I felt a deep sympathy to the bird, even though I really didn't know where that came from or why. All I wanted this moment was to curl up on the ground and immerge into my sorrows.

"Stay on then.", Professor Aragon sighed and removed his arm, rolling his eyes and looking rather unaffected by the birds cry. As he spoke, the despair lifted from me as fast as it had come. I quickly rubbed my eyes dry with the sleeve of my robes and straightened up again, feeling slightly embarrassed. Newt Scamander was looking over to us again, looking forlorn.

"So, as the beginning of your N.E.W.T. class we will study the various types of magical birds, some of them infamous, but rare", he gestured to the phoenix, "and some barely known nowadays." The grey bird clucked its beak and bobbed its head a few times, apparently feeling addressed.

"As I introduce these two species, I expect you to take notes and begin an anatomical drawing of both of them in comparison until the end of the lecture." A few students nodded and I shuffled in my bag for some parchment and a quill while Leta did the same. When we all stood ready and waiting, the professor cleared his throat.

"The creature sitting on my shoulder here is native, but still unknown to many. It is called the Irish Phoenix or Augurey or sometimes also the prophet of rain."

"But professor!", a sturdy looking blonde boy from Gryffindor interrupted Aragon, his hand had shot into the air. "Don't you know that the cry of the Augurey is an omen of death?!", he exclaimed excitedly and a few students surrounding him gasped. A small Hufflepuff girl slapped her hand to her mouth in horror.

Aragon had a look of utmost dislike on his face, his eyes narrowed at the young man.

"Mister Fawley, do I have to remind you again after three years that students _do not speak_ without permission in my class. As for your childish and inappropriate comment-"

"But Sir! My grandfather once heard one and two days later he-"

"Twenty points from Gryffindor, Mister Fawley and if you interrupt me once more I will put you in detention! Have I made myself clear?", Aragon hissed and advanced onto the boy while the Augurey on his shoulders croaked in protest as he swayed dangerously and partly unfolded his wings to keep balance.

The Gryffindor boy swallowed visibly, finding the head of Slytherin house and the overlarge bird glaring down at him and he nodded quickly while he took a step back.

"As I was about to tell before I was boldly interrupted, the Augurey's cry foretells precipitation and thunderstorms, but in earlier times, people thought it a dark omen of death. This may be the cause of the Augurey's power to conjure sorrow and despair among people, as you were able to experience. So whenever they built a village, the Augureys close by were chased away from their natural habitats, the forests of Northern Europe. This might be a reason why their population is rather small today."

Aragon gazed around sharply, daring anyone to speak up, but no one did.

"For those still believing these ridiculous, prejudiced statements about death omens, I recommend to read the book ' _Why I Didn't Die When the Augurey Cried'_ by Gulliver Pokeby."

The Augurey eyed us with its light yellow eyes and cocked its head from one side to the other. Its grey and inky coloured feathers ruffled slightly as it lifted its wings and croaked. Next to the proud and shiny Phoenix, it looked depressingly sad and rather unimpressive.

"Now, the infamous Phoenix is the equivalent of the Augurey in southern regions, as it naturally occurs in the forests of North Africa and South Asia. Even though their physiology is rather similar, the magic of the phoenix is much more powerful. Professor Dumbledore thankfully offered to study his phoenix for today."

I'd just started to outline the Irish Phoenix's body form and wings, when a question came to my mind. I raised my hand, still holding the quill as Aragon explained the many powers of the phoenix.

"Yes, Miss Greengrass?", he asked and I dropped my hand down.

"Sir, does it mean that it's going to rain today? I mean because the Augurey cried in the beginning of the class…" I blushed slightly as a few students laughed at my question.

"This remains to be seen. It certainly can, but then it may have also simply communicated." The Augurey ruffled its feathers importantly, nipped the professor's hair and nudged his head, to which Aragon impatiently tried to shove its beak away.

"Or foretold someone's death...", the sturdy boy from Gryffindor mumbled defiantly, but to his luck, professor Aragon didn't hear.

By the end of the class, Leta had finished a beautiful ink drawing of the phoenix including the shimmering feathers and ornate patterns, while I still struggled to get its beak right. Her Augurey drawing however seemed a bit uncompassionately and hastily finished.

As Professor Aragon collected the parchments, the Augurey croaked a few times and as I went to hand in my drawings, it suddenly took flight. I felt its wings graze the top of my head as it raised into the still sunlit sky and with another high-pitched cry which resounded over the grounds, it disappeared in the direction of the forest.

Aragon sighed and folded the collected parchments before he stuffed them into his robes.

"Class dismissed then. Off you go. Mister Scamander, a word if you please?" Leta looked up attentively and watched Newt as he went to Aragon and the phoenix still perched on the fence. Then she grabbed my arm and roughly pulled me in the direction of the castle.

"Come on, let's go.", she said and strode off, with me hurrying after her.

* * *

The rain thundered down onto the roof of Greenhouse three, washing down dirt and creating quite a noise for us students inside it. The wind rattled at the door and I was extremely glad to be inside, even after the few minutes running down the grounds from the castle and getting soaked on the way.

Professor Beery had made Horace repeat the potting and pruning tasks from last lesson, so I found myself grouped up with Newt Scamander yet again. Instead of a greeting, he had nodded at me once and we spent a few minutes in silence while we chopped up chunks of raw meat for the shrubs.

"Did you like it?", he suddenly spoke and I jumped slightly, luckily the knife missed my fingers.

"What?", I asked confused, thinking that I must have missed something he'd said earlier.

"The Augurey, did you like it?", he asked again in a gentle tone that spoke of reluctant adoration. I stopped to cut and looked at him.

"Yes, I think I did.", I smiled and to my astonishment, he did, too, while his eyes never left the steak he was hackling.

"An Augurey once built its nest in a tree in our garden.", he continued and I found this was quite a private thing to share when he barely knew me.

"Leta seemed to like the phoenix better.", I said without thinking and instantly regretted it as he froze. "I mean…", I started quickly, but what I meant exactly never came to my mind. His hand tightly gripped the handle of his knife and I could see his jaw clench.

"Leta has always preferred appearance over inner values.", he whispered while his blue eyes stared at the meat without really seeing it.

"I- I'm sorry.", I said and his head snapped to the side, staring into my eyes now. I held my breath as he considered me and just then, he reminded me of an elusive animal. A moment later, he dropped his gaze again and slowly continued the chopping, though very tense in his movements.

I breathed and felt my shoulders relax; a tingling sensation had started in my stomach.

"What did she tell you?", he asked, almost too quiet for me to hear.

"Nothing really, but I… I assumed you had a fight or something like that.", I replied slowly and waited, anticipating an answer. Yet again, he immerged into silentness. After a few more minutes, I couldn't stand the tensed atmosphere anymore and decided to break the silence.

"What did Professor Aragon want from you after class?"

"We talked about a project I want to do in the care of magical creatures.", he replied and started to pile up the cut pieces of meat and transfer it into a bowl next to it.

"Really? What is it about then?", I asked quickly, trying to sound interested and keen to keep up at least a shallow conversation. I felt glad he had chosen to speak at all and not ignored me after this none too sensible remark.

"Bowtruckles.", he said and straightened up from work. I shoved the rest of the meat into the bowl as well. "I found an inhabited tree on the grounds.", he continued and started to feed our self-fertilizing shrub by dropping the cut-ups into the pot.

A few roots emerged from the ground and wrapped around the food, pulling it down with it. I also began to throw meat onto the soil and watched it disappear into the dirty depths of the pot.

After a few moments, out of nowhere really, I heard myself saying, "Would you mind showing me someday?"

I winced slightly as I saw Newt freeze again, his hand hovering awkwardly in the air and he turned to stare at me.

"You… you want to see a tree with Bowtruckles?", he asked sceptically, his eyebrows furrowed, as though he couldn't quite believe what he had heard or else that I had said something I didn't mean to. I felt the heat creep up my face, but stood his gaze and puffed my cheeks.

"That's what I said. I'd love to see a wand tree up close. They are supposed to possess excellent magical traits." Just then I thought I'd sounded just like Mr Ollivander would, but I didn't care.

We stared at each other for a moment.

Then Newt dropped his gaze and I saw a corner of his mouth curl up slightly.

"Alright. I can show you."

* * *

Thank you so much for supporting this story! I get a lot of motivation out of that. I hope when you read this and the rain patters down outside, you will think of an Augurey croaking and grooming its feathers :)

Please leave a comment if you liked it, I'm glad for suggestions and improvements.


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